Assateague Island National Seashore per-person entrance fees to double

Starting May 1, visitors to Assateague Island National Seashore in Maryland will pay double the current entrance fees per person, with more increases coming in January 2020.

The per-person entrance fee, which is currently $5, will rise to $10 on May 1 and increase to $15 starting Jan. 1, 2020, the National Park Service announced in a news release. 

The park service said the fee increase aims to provide additional funding for infrastructure and maintenance needs at the park. 

While other fees at the national seashore remain unchanged for now, they will rise beginning Jan. 1, 2020, the release said. The vehicle fee remains $20 for now.

For Mary Brooke Oropallo of Niles, New York, the increase in fee doesn't bother her, she said as she was unloading her family car for a day at the beach on a windy Tuesday morning.

"We will always support the National Parks and state parks," she said. "It's vacations that we normally take and we would support it within reason."

The pass for a vehicle, which is $20 for seven days, is acceptable, she said, and an incremental raise that is done in a "reasonable" manner would not bother her, she said.

The per-person entrance fees will rise to $15; per vehicle fee will go up from $20 to  $25; per motorcycle, the fee will rise from $15 to $20; and the annual park pass will increase from $40 to $45. 

The per-person entrance fee applies to individuals 16 years of age or older when entering by means other than a private, non-commercial vehicle, such as taxis and limousines providing transportation only; buses carrying passengers not on a pre-packaged tour such as school groups visiting for recreational purposes; and buses or vans registered to nonprofit organizations such as churches or schools.

A family traveling together shall pay no more than the vehicle fee, according to the National seashore website.

All of the money received from entrance fees remains with the National Park Service, with at least 80 percent of the revenue going to Assateague Island National Seashore, the release said.

Jane Mann of Lewes thinks it's a good deal.

Compared to the fees at the Delaware State Parks, the fees for Assataegue Island National Seashore are reasonable, especially for $40 for an annual pass, she said.

"It's $40 for the year," she said. "The other places can't compare."

The rate hike is part of fee increases announced recently by the U.S. Interior Department.

The department oversees the National Park Service, which includes the most-visited national park site, the Blue Ridge Parkway, which had 16.1 million visitors in 2017, and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which saw a record 11.3 million guests last year.

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke announced the increase in entrance fees earlier this month to help offset the $11.6 billion in deferred maintenance across the system of 417 parks, historic and cultural sites and monuments.

When the proposal for increased fees was announced last year, it would have initially doubled or tripled fees at some parks, drawing outrage from many groups, including park visitors, businesses, local governments and the Outdoor Industry Association, saying it would severely limit access to parks for many people.

 After receiving more than 100,000 comments, officials settled on a more modest fee increase for all entrance fee-charging parks, rather than the higher peak-season fees initially proposed only for 17 highly-visited national parks. 

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“This modest increase in entrance fees will allow us to continue to protect, preserve and share the special places here at Assateague Island National Seashore with current visitors and future generations,” said Park Superintendent Deborah Darden.

“Fee revenue makes it possible for us to continue to provide a high quality visitor experience in both Virginia and Maryland.”  

National parks have experienced record-breaking visitation, with more than 1.5 billion visitors in the last five years. 

The additional revenue from entrance fees at Assateague Island National Seashore will replace the deteriorating guard rail along Bayberry Drive and outdated interpretive wayside exhibits through the park, among other projects. 

Entrance fees collected by the National Park Service totaled $199.9 million in fiscal year 2016. The NPS estimates that once fully implemented, the new fee structure will increase annual entrance fee revenue by about $60 million.  

Assateague Island National Seashore has had an entrance fee since 1971. The current rate of $20 per vehicle or $15 per motorcycle has been in effect since 2015. The park is one of 117 National Park Service sites that charge an entrance fee, the other 300 national parks will remain free to enter. 

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The price of the annual America the Beautiful National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Annual Pass and Lifetime Senior Pass will remain $80.  

The National Park Service has a standardized entrance fee structure, composed of four groups based on park size and type. Assateague Island National Seashore is one of 33 sites in group 2. 

Some parks not yet aligned with the other parks in their category will raise their fees incrementally and fully incorporate the new entrance fee schedule by Jan. 1, 2020. Assateague Island National Seashore is one of these parks.

Information from the USA TODAY Network was used in this report.